Remote situatedness beyond the control room: enhanced seeing and sense of place in railway operations

Abstract This paper contributes to the long-ongoing research on control room work by exploring the work practices of traffic controllers and information officers in the domain of train traffic. This study examines how distributed, socially, spatially, and temporally dynamic work activities are enacted within train traffic control rooms. By exploring the situated knowledge of traffic controllers and information officers, we identify the challenge of maintaining remote engagement with, and attachment to, places beyond the control room. By employing a workplace study approach, the paper illustrates how the workers manage the demands of being distributed and dependent on artefacts, as well as their acquired ability to ‘see’ the rail, while physically present elsewhere. We introduce the concept of ‘sense of place’ to better understand the remote aspects of work and how workers develop and maintain their engagement with railway operations in locations far from their own. To conceptualise this phenomenon, we introduce a new term—remote situatedness. This concept integrates cognitive and technological aspects of enhanced seeing with the sense of place, capturing professionals’ ability to engage with distant locations. Our findings highlight three key examples: Mutually enacted situated seeing, Mediated sense of place, and Failed sense of place. These illustrate how remote situatedness is enacted, technologically mediated, and challenged. In conclusion, the paper highlights the need to put the workers’ engagement with their material and social environment at the core of control room research and suggests future research directions for studying work practices from a holistic perspective.